According to Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus, every NFL team has a “team killer,” an opponent who has hurt them the most. For the Green Bay Packers, that killer is Minnesota Vikings superstar safety Harrison Smith.
Harrison Smith being named the “team killer” of the Packers should come as no surprise. The safety has been on the Vikings his entire seven-year career. With Minnesota playing Green Bay twice a year, that's a lot of games for Smith to do some damage.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the “team killers” happen to be in the same division as the team they're killing. Therefore, Smith being the Packers' biggest bugaboo is far from shocking.
Harrison Smith has allowed a ridiculously low passer rating of 71.5 and has five interceptions against Green Bay. In 868 snaps he has a Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 90.1 and coverage grade of 85.7. He has a 90.0 overall grade against the Packers.
Funnily enough, the Vikings are the only team in the NFC North that doesn't have Aaron Rodgers as its team killer. Could it be due to how well Harrison Smith contains him?
The Vikings have running back Eddie Lacy (from the Packers) as their biggest nemesis. They probably won't get a chance for redemption against him; there's a strong chance he won't be appearing anytime soon.
Harrison Smith, on the other hand, can continue to build his case against the Green Bay Packers this year. The Minnesota Vikings have another two games against them. Smith is signed through the next three seasons, so he should get another six games (barring injury) against the team he terrorizes.
Will the Packers figure him out, or will the Minnesota Vikings continue to hold the key to stopping Aaron Rodgers?
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